How to Block WebRTC in Google Chrome Browser

WebRTC (Web Real Time Communication) is a very useful API that can be used to connect two or more users through their web browsers for video calling, audio chat, P2P file sharing and other interactive things. Mozilla Firefox uses WebRTC for its Hello conversation feature that lets you connect to any other users having WebRTC enabled web browsers. Similarly, Whatsapp uses WebRTC for its audio calling feature. With so many important applications utilizing the WebRTC API, the discovery of a privacy problem in it has come as a shock to everyone.

The recently detected privacy problem in WebRTC can expose your real public IP address and the local IP address even if you are using proxy addresses or VPN servers to hide your identity. This can foil your attempts to hide your online identity, even after paying for expensive VPN services. Fortunately, you can easily block WebRTC in the Google Chrome browser using the WebRTC Block extension.

You can test if your Chrome browser is revealing your local and public IP addresses through the WebRTC API by visiting the leak demo page on github (https://diafygi.github.io/webrtc-ips/). If your Chrome browser is exposing your IP addresses, then you will see both the local IP address and the public IP address.

After installing the WebRTC Block extension in the Chrome browser, if you visit the flaw demo page on github, then you would see that WebRTC API calls have been blocked and your local and public IP addresses are no longer being revealed.

Conclusion: Although not a serious flaw, you can block the WebRTC API in Chrome and prevent your local and public IP addresses from being revealed using the WebRTC Block extension for Chrome.